Ukrainian Institute for the Future and the Ukrainian Council of Defence Industry presented a report on the results of the defence industry in 2024

The production capacity of the Ukrainian defence industry increased by a record 6 times in 2024, according to the study ‘Results of the Defence Industry of Ukraine in 2024. Prospects and further steps for the future’. The industry research was conducted by the Ukrainian Institute for the Future (UIF) with the support of the Ukrainian Council of Defence Industry.

In 2024, the total volume of arms production reached $10 billion, compared to $3 billion in 2023 and $1 billion in 2022. At the same time, according to Ihor Fedirko, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Arms Manufacturers Council, Ukrainian manufacturers are operating at 30-40% of their total production capacity. The growth potential is included in the plans for 2025: in particular, the domestic defence industry is preparing to produce 30,000 long-range drones, 3,000 cruise missiles and drone missiles. In total, production is expected to increase to $30-35 billion, a threefold increase compared to 2024.

‘If we take armoured vehicles, one Ukrainian company produces more than the entire European defence industry. And we have only six private companies of this kind. And so it is in every sector. We are also creating industries that have never been represented in the foreign defence industry. This primarily concerns electronic warfare and ground robotic systems (UGV),’ Ihor Fedirko sums up the work of the domestic defence industry.

One of the key trends in the defence industry in 2024 is localisation and import substitution.

‘The production of Ukrainian components for unmanned systems and electronic warfare systems is actively increasing. If earlier the cameras used in most vehicles were imported, by the beginning of 2025 we already have manufacturers who make their own cameras and install them on their FPV drones. As of the beginning of 2025, there are already manufacturers of EW that make their own unique amplifiers. The same is true for engines that are already fully Ukrainian-made,’ the study says. According to Ihor Fedirko, localisation in some products already reaches 60%, and in 2025 the share will grow.

The report says that last year the share of Ukrainian production in the Armed Forces reached 30%. In some segments, the percentage of domestic production is much higher. Thus, ‘in 2024, drones produced in Ukraine accounted for 96.2% of all UAVs used by the Defence Forces. In 2024, Ukrainian enterprises manufactured and assembled more than 1.5 million FPV drones (including SIGINT), attack copters-bombers, kamikaze aircraft, and long-range Deep Strike drones.’ ‘In 2024, the Ministry of Defence codified and authorised more than 200 vehicles for use in the Defence Forces. About 50% of them are domestically produced... In January 2025, the Ministry of Defence codified and authorised about 130 new models of weapons and military equipment for use in the Defence Forces. Of these, about 100 were produced by Ukrainian arms manufacturers. Among the weapons and military equipment samples codified since the beginning of 2025, unmanned aerial systems account for the largest number - almost four dozen samples.’

‘We have examples where a Russian tank worth $5 million is destroyed by a swarm of Ukrainian drones worth $1,500-2,000. That is, through the development of robotic systems, Ukraine can change the defence industry landscape,’ adds Anatoliy Amelin, UIF Executive Director.

In some positions, Ukrainian manufacturers have completely occupied a niche. For example, ‘the Defence Forces use ground robotic systems only made in Ukraine. They also use electronic warfare equipment mainly made in Ukraine, as it is the most adapted to the current conditions of modern warfare and is constantly being adapted by manufacturers at the request of the military... Long-range strike UAVs are exclusively Ukrainian weapons, thanks to which Ukraine strikes asymmetric blows at the enemy's logistics and oil depots.’

The Ukrainian defence industry has de facto become a key player in the global defence industry. As of the end of 2024, Ukraine had signed agreements with 40 foreign defence companies. ‘A survey conducted by the Technological Forces of Ukraine Association among 32 private defence companies showed that representatives of 75% of NATO countries have approached Ukrainian defence companies at least once to establish partnerships or supply military equipment. Lithuania showed the greatest interest in Ukrainian producers, with 41% of respondents receiving requests for cooperation from this country. This is followed by the UK with 28%, and the US, Czech Republic and Latvia with 22% each.’

The full version of the study is available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/11Bs9-b_cftUo7v22F2FipfcM7k4GiXas/view